Iran Welcomes UN Call for Yemen Ceasefire

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman welcomed the UN Secretary-General’s call for a global halt in armed clashes amid the coronavirus outbreak and said the Islamic Republic supports any initiative ending the war against people of Yemen and the blockade of the impoverished country. “Yemen has been faced with the biggest humanitarian crisis as a result of a destructive war,” Abbas Mousavi said on Thursday, referring to five years of aggression against Yemen by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia.

He reminded how the war and the aggressors’ simultaneous aerial, naval, and land blockade of Yemen have been coming in the way of humanitarian assistance to its people since the onset of the war in March 2015.

“And now spread of the coronavirus disease amid the absence of the most basic facilities and the gravity of the humanitarian situation in the country has doubled concerns,” the spokesman added.

Mousavi pointed to a Monday proposal by the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who called for “an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.” Guterres also warned that in war-torn countries, health systems have collapsed and the small number of health professionals left were often targeted.

Mousavi said the proposal that has also been welcomed by Yemen’s National Salvation Government could serve as an “important step” towards preventing deaths of thousands of innocent people and opening up a window of opportunity for establishment of peace and stability.

In order for that to happen, however, the invading Saudi-led coalition has to take “practical measures” and lift the blockade, he said.

Saudi Arabia launched the war in March 2015 to restore power to Yemen’s former Riyadh-backed officials.

The Saudi-led coalition has been provided with arms, intelligence, logistical, and political support from the United States and some of its allies, notably the United Kingdom.

The weapons supplied by the US and others have included precision ammunition that the Saudi-led coalition has been deploying indiscriminately against Yemen’s civilian-populated areas.